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Monday, September 30, 2013

Actually who will say no to Ferrero chocolates, my daughter is a great fan of this chocolates and she loves it a lot. When i told that for our this month Baking Eggless, owned by Gayathri, i'll be making her favourite chocolate as tart, she was very excited and seriously she bugged me to make this tart as quick as possible.Usually i'll finish mostly all the challenges am participating very earlier. But unfortunately this time i was bit busy with some household stuffs and for the long marathon. Finally i prepared these fantabulous tarts last weekend and trust me its our favourite tart now, this tart goes for eggs but since am making these tart for Baking eggless event i prepared them as eggless, personally i didnt missed eggs here. A very buttery crust, very delicious smooth mousse and very nutty chocolatey hazelnut thing makes this tart an incredible dessert .Priya Srinivasan of En Veetu Kitchen suggested this tart from Trissalicious.Thanks Gayathri and Priya for suggesting us this beautiful tart.

My kids were behind me once i finished these tart and could have enough time to click them properly coz i prepared this tart almost very late in the evening, i clicked some pictures with the tart mould before the day light gets disappears, i'll make these tart again and will put soon some decent pictures definitely. Trust me i reserved a tart for me to click and eat the next day but my hungry H finished my tart late in the nite.The whole cooking and baking process may goes for a long but this tart is definitely worth to try. If you want to make something different,chocolatey and very nutty tart from the usual fruits or chocolate tart,i'll suggest definitelyto try this tart, do give a try friends, am sure you will definitely fallen in love with this beautiful dessert.

Seriously september went too fast for me, may be coz i was busy in cooking ,clicking and scheduling the posts for my long blogging marathon. Eventhough we planned this marathon before few months, somehow i have made many changes in my recipes, somehow am happy that i have accomplished this month's blogging marathon successfully. Thank god, i finished this whole month marathon without any difficulties.A month of blogging marathon with themes under Alphabets is definitely a fabulous experience to know more about many recipes which are not that much familiar for me,also learned many more new recipes from my fellow marathoners. All of us have done a fabulous job and love this BM group which is very close to my heart.

Honestly i'll be missing the last minute thrills and head breaking recipe's search under different alphabets.Trust me for the letter 'Z',i was between the International or Fusion, but i want to go under International cuisine for this week's theme,thats why i dont want to cook anything under Fusion dishes.My first choice for today's recipe was between a pulao and a drink. But finally i chosed this super refreshing drink, when i was searching a drink with saffron, i got this drink from a Pakistani Tv show through google master.This refreshing chilled drink goes for saffron, milk, jellies prepared with agar agar, nuts and sabja seeds, quite an interesting drink rite. You can have this drink when the weather is too hot or as a welcome drink when you have relatives at home. With loads of nuts, this drink tastes simply awesome.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Just two more days to finish a month of long blogging marathon, you guys would have noticed since 2 september i have been posting different recipes under different themes with alphabets as starting letters.Today am posting with 'Y'as starting letter under International Cuisine as theme. Y letter have very much limited recipes and my choice went immediately to a Filipino custard candy. This candy is quite famous and its available in every markets and shops.

Actually this candy is prepared usually with condensed milk and egg yolk,but some may go for milk powder and omit the egg yolks, seriously with these simple ingredients this candy is ready to munch. Yema is a fantastic gooey filipino candies which gets ready in very less time and these bite sized custard are definitely an addictive snacks or desserts after a meal. This candy is one the popular dessert that many people from Philipines would have carried atleast once in their lunch box or when they visit their friends and relatives. Obviously this yema is a fancy finger foods and you can make these candies with different variations like vanilla flavoured,coffee flavoured etc..However these Yema tastes like our kalakand for me.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

I know the name of the today's post will be definitely a tongue twister, even i took enough time to spell it. Actually when i chosed International cuisine for this week's theme of long marathon am running during this whole month, i want to make a chinese dish which starts with 'X' as i need to post today's recipe starts with this letter coz we are running different themes during four weeks in alphabetic order.But most of the dishes i crossed while googling goes either for large quantity of eggs or either beef or pork. Since i dont eat either beef or pork and dont want to make a cake which goes for almost 6egg yolks, i took enough time to search to get a super simple dish and finally i got this incredible Greek salad which goes for simple vegetables and simple dressing.

This quick,colourful and very refreshing Greek salad just need easy ingredients to make, and this is a prefect summer time salad.Some lettuce,tomatoes,cucumber,kalamatta olives,feta cheese and red onions makes this colourful salad which is served with an easy breezy garlic flavoured olive oil-vinegar dressing.I carried this salad for our summer time weekend picnic happened before a month and enjoyed thoroughly with some grilled meats. Doesnt matter whether the weather is hot or not, you can still make this healthy,quick and colourful salad whenever we feel lazy to cook or if you want to have a quick salad.

Friday, September 27, 2013

For the letter 'W' under International cuisine theme, we have numerous choices eventhough my first choice i planned to cook up for today's post for my long marathon was wonton soup, then i dropped it coz the day i cooked it was not a prefect day to click as it was raining like anything. Then one fine day, i decided to make gaspacho with watermelon and none wanted to have it so i dropped it again, actually the recipe choice of W took me enough time to decide and finally i went for making this watermelon salsa for a birthday party we organised at home for my son during summer. This salsa was a big hit among the adults, its such a light,refreshing and quick salsa,just tastes fabulous with tortilla chips.

A prefect party starter and definitely a crowd pleaser.Salsa is a sauce which goes usually for tomato based sauces, salsa is a Spanish word for sauce. There are many types of salsa usually vary throughout Latin America. Actually salsa are traditionally prepared using mortar and pestle eventhough blenders are used commonly now. The most popular and easy salsa is pico de gallo which is prepared quickly with raw tomatoes,lime juice,chilli peppers,onions, coriander leaves. This watermelon salsa is in my to do list since a long and finally i could make some during summer.This refreshing salsa takes hardly 10minutes to get ready if you have all the ingredients with you.Makes this salsa when you get watemelon abundantly and enjoy them.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Sweet potato are a major source of skin protecting beta carotene, they are as much as healthier like our carrots. This humble root vegetable is rarely cooked in our kitchen, you can dish out many different dishes to bakes with this sweet potatoes. The ladies from my family make different dishes from this root vegetable and one among their dishes, this curry is my all time favourite. This poriyal aka curry goes awesome as side dish with a simple rasam rice. You can also enjoy this vegan dish thoroughly with rotis, eventhough this dish may tastes bit sweet, the spices used in this poriyal will definitely give this poriyal enough spiciness.

A simple coarse paste of spices makes this poriyal as a delicious side dish, the cooking time may varies depending upon the freshness of the sweet potato,however this curry is one of my grandma's signature dish, you can also make the same poriyal with pumpkins too.Today is the last thursday of the month and its time to post for Vegan Thursdays, an vegan event running twice a month,this simple,delicious and vegan curry goes to this event.Sending to Srivalli's Side dish Mela.

Latkes can be defined as vegetable pancakes which suits prefectly for a sunday brunch and these shallow fried pancakes can be prepared in a jiffy. Latkes are prepared usually with potatoes, but here those shallow fried potato pancakes took a new avatar and disguised with colourful veggies.Latkes with vegetables goes for grated mixed veggies, flour and egg, which is flavoured with onions. You can chose vegetables like carrot,turnips,radish,zucchini,cabbage and potatoes for making this vegetable latkes. The flavour of each vegetable is mild enough that you still feel like having a latke. Traditional latkes use both flour and egg for binding, eventhough eggs works prefect if you squeeze out the moisture of the vegetables as possible before frying.

Grated vegetables works prefect for this vegetable latkes, personally making latkes with grated vegetables can works out wonderful with kids,whoever hates vegetables will definitely adore these pancakes.My followers knows very well that am running a month of blogging marathon with four different themes for four weeks of this month. This week's theme was International cuisine and obviously vegetable latkes goes under Jewish cuisine with starting letter as 'V'.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

To chose a food under International cuisine with starting letter as 'U' wasnt that much difficult for me, coz Umm ali was in my to do list since ages. Actually this Umm ali, a delicious dessert goes for an easy breezy preparation and its a famous bread pudding of Egypt. Everyone have their own version of Umm ali, some may goes for phyllo dough, some goes for crossisants while other goes for stale bread. But i chosed puff pastry to make this flaky and very nutty pudding. I used dessicated coconut flakes, nuts and some dry fruits. This recipe can be adapted easily with anything thats available in your pantry.

This pudding have a story behind it, but who cares we just enjoyed thoroughly this easy pudding, every single bite of this pudding is just out of the world. Within less than half an hour, this incredible pudding gets ready to relish and you can have it either warm or chilled with a scoop of vanilla icecream. Somehow i'll advice you to use puff pastry for making this pudding than crossisants or stale breads coz puff pastry gives a superb flaky texture to this pudding. If you a crowd to feed during a party, make this Umm ali for the dessert am sure everyone will enjoy thoroughly this pudding coz its completely egg free and very simple to prepare.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Nothing can beat the aroma of freshly baked breads at home and obviously homemade breads are the best without any preservatives. Home made breads are very much tastier than the store bought one and they are damn cheaper and doesnt take much time to prepare at home. If you ask me to bake a bread everyday, i dont hesitate a second at all. Coz bread making are definitely a stress burster, if you want to feel free from your stress just bake a bread at home.Homemade breads are more nutritious when compared to store bought ones,needless to say that we can mix and match the ingredients according to our wish.

For our this month's We Knead To Bake, a monthly baking event by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen, we baked honeycomb buns aka Khaliat Nahal.This bread is very easy to make with a sweet or savoury filling in it, which is then covered with a sugar syrup, a typical Middle Eastern Confectionery. Khaliat Nahal means Bee's Hive in Arabic hence these buns are baked close to each other in round pan to form a honeycomb like pattern. Traditionally these buns are made as sweet with plain cream cheese, glazed with honey flavoured syrup but Aparna suggested even the savoury ones.I chosed the sweet version and i went for semi sweet chocolate chips for the filling, trust me this chocolate stuffed buns are just fantabulous, none could stop with one. A prefect evening snacks to enjoy with a cup of masal chai,these buns are seriously very addictive.

Monday, September 23, 2013

After an Italian dish, today am going towards Thai cuisine. Thai foods are my personal favourite and i can die for a plate of pad thai, yes i love their foods that much. Seriously am waiting for an opportunity to visit Thailand to taste their original Thai foods.Initially Thai prawn green curry was in my list for today's recipe for my long blog marathon as am running this week's theme with International cuisine with 'T' as starting letter.But coz of my busy schedule with kids school stuffs and their extra activites i couldnt organise myself to prepared a home made Thai green paste and finally i ended up with an easy breezy,very light and fantastic refreshing dessert.

This tapioca pudding is one of the quickest dessert i have prepared, just cook some tiny tapioca pearls which i bought from the chinese store coz the tapioca pearls we use in this pudding should be very tiny than our Indian tapioca pearls aka sago. Cooked tapioca pearls topped with coconut cream and mixed fruits with some maple syrup,honey or a simple sugar syrup makes this delicious fruity pudding. I used store bought coconut cream and canned fruit cocktail to top this incredible light pudding, obviously if you dont like or dont want to use the canned one you can definitely go for a homemade thick coconut milk and chopped fresh fruits.

Cant believe today am entering to the last and final week of this month's long marathon, happy that i could make this incredible blogging marathon with many beautiful dishes under different themes and am loving it. Do you want to know about this week's theme of mine?. Its again an another interesting theme with two choices, yes this week's theme is going to be International dishes or fusion dishes. Do i need to tell wat i chosed, obviously am going to run this week with International dishes. Eventhough i have a bunch of fusion foods that goes very well with this week's theme, i picked International cuisines. Since i love to cook from various cuisine, this week is going to be very much interesting when compared to the previous weeks.

For the first day of this week, we are travelling towards Italy. This country is very close to my heart coz Italy was the first country i visited after my marriage. I had a chance to visit the floating city Venise few years back with my better half, we had a fabulous time there and obviously i came back home with many more precious moments to cherish. The first dish i tasted there is spaghetti alla carbonara which was just out of the world.Spaghetti alla carbonara is a super rich creamy dish with loads of cream and cheese, i still remember the taste of this spaghetti dish. Actually when i planned International cuisines for this week, i decided to make spaghetti alla carbonara but finally i went for a super simple spaghetti aglio olio, one of the famous dish in Italy which is also a traditional dish there.This flavourful and quick spaghetti dish takes hardly less than 20minutes to get ready. Just cook your spaghetti and saute them with garlic, red chilly flakes with salt and dry herbs, thats it. Your spaghetti aglio olio is ready to enjoy, serve this mildy spiced spaghetti with some grilled meats or oven roasted potatoes for your lunch or dinner, am sure you will enjoy thoroughly your food. This dish goes under our family favourite foods list,even my daughter makes this dish. Yes this dish is very simple to dish out with less efforts.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

If you are searching for a succulent, very moist cake with semolina, this cake is for you. For our this month's Home Baker's Challenge, Shama of Shama's Easy 2 Cook Recipes chosed both sweet and savoury bakes. After baking some Vegan Banana Nut Muffins, here comes an another interesting cake you may enjoy thoroughly with your family for your snacks with your favourite drink.This cake is completely flour free and baked with fine quality yellow semolina which i get easily from my nearby provision store.This cake is just out of the world, yes this cake came out extremely spongy,super fluffy and very much moist coz of the honey syrup used in this cake.

Its 4th sunday of the month and since i belong to a group of friends who blogs on sunday for the event Let's Brunch On Sundays am posting this incredible cake today. Do you know the main motto of this event is to blog on sundays since most of the bloggers couldnt able to feed their blog babies during weekdays coz of their busy schedules, so myself and Veena both planned to create an event to cook and post a dish which goes under Sunday brunch,lunch or dinner.This cake makes a wonderful dessert after heavy sunday meal.Sending to Srivalli's Cake Mela.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Today is my final dish of this week's theme streetfoods/condiments,last but not least yes am posting today our family favourite street food aka chaat food Ragda patties. Actually its been more than 5 years i tasted this ragda patties in India, but after then seriously i wanted to try this chaat food at home as we dont get chaat foods easily here in Paris. Chaat foods in Paris thats definitely a hard task and it like searching for a treasure, obviously if you are craving for chaat foods/streets foods here you need to make yourself at home. When i chosed this week's theme as street foods/condiments, i know for the letter 'R' i'll be making this ragda patties. I prepared this droolworthy ragda patties few days back, needless to say we had a feast at home.

I prepared this delicious ragda patties from the scratch since i had all the ingredients at home. This dish goes for two parts, the one is ragda which is prepared by soaked and cooked white peas with spices and the second part is making patties aka tikkis with potatoes.While serving, two or three patties are covered with this stew called ragda as sauce and garnished with chopped onions,coriander leaves, served with spicy green chutney and sweet dates chutney thats it, now just enjoy this incredible chaat food.This dish may goes for a long cooking process but definitely a worth to try, you can have a filling brunch or a snack if you have this ragda patties.

Every 7th and 20th of a month,you guys would have noticed that am inviting few of my new buddies to share their guest post in my space, seriously am blessed to get this much generous friends in this virtual world.Twice a month am introducing newbie bloggers to this immense blogging virtual world, just to showcase their blogs with their guest posts they prepred specially for me. Since ever i started this event, its running with huge success and all my guests never surprised me with their humble and delicious dishes.Today is one more fantastic blogger who never stopped sharing many traditional,wonderful bakes and many more stunning foods.

She is none other than Sowmya of Nivedhanam, i came to know Sowmya through this virtual world before a year. Actually as a co blogger, i love to visit her space to read all her dishes but seriously i want to know more about the lady behind the blog. Thank god, now she shared more about her and i was surprised to know that she lives in Bangalore now.Dunno why but sincever i came to know her for me, she is a blogger who blogs from abroad. May be coz she shares many dishes from various International cuisines that too with many ingredients which are quite rare to get easily in India.

As a blogger, Sowmya is just an amazing person who never stops encouraging her fellow bloggers, even she is tied up with many stuffs, trust me if she follows your space even after a week she will leave her encouraging words. By the way if you are searching for a fusion or something traditional or else eggless bakes, dont forget to go through Sowmya's place and am sure you will definitely get hooked to her fantastic space called Nivedhanam.
Lets hear from Sowmya..

1)Tell us about your blog and you?

My name is Sowmya Chandrasekaran. I am from Chennai currently living in Bangalore with my husband and my little daughter. I was in Chennai until my marriage and then moved to US and now back in Bangalore after 8 years in US. I have done my masters in Finance and Computers and was a working women in Microsoft as Assistant Controller - Finance until my daughter was born. My entry into the kitchen started after marriage and as I learnt this beautiful art of cooking, it has become my passion. I love photography (although an amateur) and enjoy taking pictures of people, food and places. I am a strict vegetarian and the same is my blog. I combined my passion of cooking and photography and started taking pictures of the food I prepared. Initially I took the pictures to share it with my family as they were all curious as to what am I cooking (Since I did not know anything in cooking)... Then I slowly started to present my food and then take pictures of it.. Since I have the habit of writing down procedures of what I do, I followed the same for the recipes. Any new recipe I did, i wrote it down and slowly I have a collection of tried recipes. I then wanted to share my recipes, so the idea of a food blog was born. In my 9 years of marriage, I have tried a lot of new cuisines and different type of food. I learnt to see and understand the ingredients of all that I buy from Bread to Complan.

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?

With blogging I have lot of new friends virtually whom I know their name and their blog.. For some I have seen photos. But the bonding is beautiful. Before blogging I never cared to present my food in a

great way.. It will be garnished well.. Now it has props, beautiful servingware etc.. I am also trying more foods with the events and the groups I join like Blogging Marathon, Vegan Thursdays, Eggless Bakes, Home Bakers Challenge etc.

4)There are a tonsof blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?

I try to have a variety in my blog from Baking to South Indian daily food to traditional Indian cuisines. I also try to write them in a very very simple manner and for some I try to include step by step where the steps are critical. All the foods are approved my picky eater husband and very picky eater daughter. All my cooking is vegetarian and eggless. I try to have at least 4 – 6 posts per week so a lot of recipes to check out.

5) When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?

My mom definitely.

6)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?

I should say I am still learning. One challenge that I overcame was the Recipe Index. It was a mess trying if I do not update it manually. Now with Sapna's code and my husband's help I am having an automated

Recipe Index which makes me lot more comfortable.

7)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?

Natural lighting is the best and take as many photos as possible and delete the ones that are not good.

9)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?

I never buy background cloth or paper. I mostly use my duppatta!!! For other props, there is no specific budget. I generally always visit the kitchen section whenever I visit the store and I always love to buy new and interesting stuff. I try to minimize it and also use the ones from my house.

10)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?

I try to post at least 4 times a week. When I do a recipe, I generally write it donwn immediately and it goes into my drafts. Once I process the pictures, they are added to the draft and have them ready.

11)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?

I love photography, travelling and chatting. I spend a lot of time with my daughter. When she is back from school, I am almost only with her... We love to read books, play games (of her age) and also tell her stories.

Basil Pesto Pasta..
Pasta is an Italian dish which is very popular and there are so many varieties available... I did this with Whole Wheat Penne. Pesto Pasta is pasta made with pesto sauce which is made from basil. It is rich, creamy and quick to make with start and finish taking about 15 minutes. The pesto also has a very fresh flavor from the green leaves. This recipe serves 2 to 3 people. Pesto is an uncooked sauce. I used coriander instead of Parsley. Pesto sauce stored in an airtight container can keep in the refrigerator for a week.

Method
Wash the basil and parsley and put them in a plastic bag and beat them with a rolling pin for 30 seconds.. This will release a lot of flavor.

Heat water and once it comes to a boil, add 1+ 1.2 tea spoons of salt.

Add the pasta and cook until done (one minute more than the prescribed minute in the package)?

Toast the pine nuts on low heat stirring occasionally in the beginning and continuously the last minute for about 8 minutes until golden in color.

Blend together basil leaves, parsley, garlic cloves, ½ tea spoon salt, 5 table spoon olive oil and the toasted pine nuts to a smooth paste. I used hand blender here and it worked like a charm. Add 2 more table spoons of olive oil and mix well. Add black pepper and cheese and set aside.

Once the pasta is done, keep 1 cup of the boiling water aside and drain the excess water and keep the pasta in the serving bowl.

Add the pesto sauce and mix well..

If needed add the reserved water (1 table spoon at a time) and mix well and serve hot!!

Am sure many of us know about quiche, anyhow quiche is a savoury,open faced pastry crust with a filling of savoury custard prepared usually with cream and eggs. Most of the time,quiche is prepared with meat or fish, rarely with cheese or vegetables and very much often with spinach leaves. Quiche is one of rich pastry of French cuisine which can be served hot or cold.Most famous quiche in France is Quiche Lorraine prepared with savoury cusard with bacon or lardon topped with emmantel cheese.

Do you know Quiche is one of the famous street food here after french fries. French people adore this rich and delicious savoury pie, they can eat anytime of the day. Coming to my quiche, i prepared mine with cherrry tomatoes and a savoury custard with cream,egg,milk and cheese.My kids love having their dose of veggies with their favourite quiche and quiche with some salads makes a super filling,satisfying lunch or dinner. Since am running a long blogging marathon with a theme each week, am posting this quiche which goes under the letter 'Q' coz my theme of this week is streetfoods/condiments.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Indian cuisine have varieties of spice powders, obviously every Indian house holds will have their proper spice powders list, been born and brought up in South India my pantry will definitely have common spice powders and most of the time i'll make myself those spice powders at home atleast twice a month. Spice powders are need to be conserved properly and a freshly grounded spice powder makes the difference in our dishes. Coming to today's post, its the famous North Indian street food pav bhaji's basic ingredient. Yes a delicious pav bhaji depends upon the freshness and the quality of this masala used in making this delicious dish.

Needless to say pav bhaji is one the favourite and most known street food or fast fooddish in India, for making a pav bhaji masala powder i usually use store bought masala which i carried from India.My stock of those storebought masala powders is over now,so i tried my hands in making some homemade masala powders, one among those masala powder i prepared at home is this Pav bhaji powder. Since am posting this week's of blogging marathon with street foods or condiments as theme, am posting this aromatic pav bhaji powder unde the letter 'P'. Pav bhaji masala is a blend of spices like red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, cinnamon,cloves,black cardamoms,fennel seeds and dry mango powder. If you make this homemade pav bhaji powder, am sure you wont ever buy those store bought masala powder.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Am sure after going through this pickle recipe,you will definitely think twice before trashing your orange peels. Yes even its happening for me too, eventhough oranges are dead cheap here. Orange season here in Paris starts from November and during winter we consume usually many kgs, as we need more vitamin C to fight against the nasty winter. Obviously my fruit basket will always have this healthy vitamin rich fruits, either juice or as fruits every morning my kids will have their dose of vitamin by having this fruits. Needless to say, how easy for me to gather those orange peels.

When i chosed condiments or street foods for this week's theme for this month's long marathon, i was searching something interesting as street foods, but dunno y i couldnt able to get a proper recipe, then i thought of making a pickle with olives, but since i have already posted them here i started thinking about why not to try a pickle with oranges. Finally after a long hesitation, i went on cooking it. This pickle tastes seriously fabulous after a day.I tried a small quantity of this pickle, as i was bit anxious about the taste, but trust me this pickle is completely different,spicy,mildly sweet and simply flavourul.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

As i told earlier in my previous post, this week's theme for my long blogging marathon is Streetfoods/Condiments, yesterday was streetfood and today am posting an interesting curry powder under condiments. This nyonya curry powder is used in Malaysian cuisine for making their famous Nyonya chicken curry. When i chose condiments as today's theme, i went on searching for a spice powder and finally i found this new curry powder at Malaysian Delicacies. Immediately i went through this curry powder, seriously i was shocked to see that this curry powder goes for your usual Indian spices.

Nyonya cuisine is the result of two cuisines, the chinese immigrants and local Malays, which gives this fantastic cuisine,this cuisine use local ingredients like chillies, shrimp paste, lemongrass, galangal etc. Nyonya peoples prefer making their curry powders or pastes themselves. This curry powder is an exemple from their collection of flavourful spice powders.With this curry powder, you can make a fingerlicking,flavourful chicken curry. Yes i prepared their Nyonya chicken curry and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Successfully i finished my two weeks of long marathon with interesting theme,i went for baked dishes for the first week and regional dishes for the second theme. Do you want know about my third week's theme, its going to be street foods/condiments/Misc/Recipeless posts. Seriously i love the themes for this long marathon and believe me i was struggling for a while to decide the recipes under this theme, finally i came to a decision to cook just streetfoods and condiments, some of recipes under this theme pulled me to think sometimes beyond my limit.

For the first day of this week's blogging marathon, i have to cook with 'M' as starting letter either under street foods or condiments. Initially i wanted to make mayonnaise at home,but somehow i prepared this fantastic street food from Karnataka called Maddur Vada, this vada is quite famous if you have travelled towards Mysore from Bangalore. Maddur vade is a type of snack or vada, which took its name from a town called Maddur in Mandya district of Karnataka. This vada is prepared simply with maida,rice flour and semolina with few more easy ingredients.Whenever we travel through train from Bangalore to Mysore,my dad never fail to get these crispy snacks. This post makes me nostalgic and am missing travelling like earlier in trains here.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

After an authentic Hyderabadi dish, we are landing to Assam for this month's Indian Cooking Challenge, actually Assamese cuisine is quite new for me which i seriously want to learn more. When Srivalli chosed Kordois, a crispy evening snacks from Sunita's space i was really excited to try this snacks which ressembles quite like Andhra's panasa thonalu which means jackfruit buds in Telugu. Sunita shared two versions of kordois, but my choice went directly to the sweet version, since we are all sweet tooth at home. However i'll make some the savoury too very soon.

Definitely this challenge is seriously very interesting and easy, kordois is often made during a festival called Bihu in Assam. Do you know 'Kordoi' is star fruit in Assamese, this snacks tastes fabulous as an evening snacks with a cup of tea. We couldnt stop yourselves munching these beauties, i have already prepared twice at home, especially my kids are great fan of this kordois.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Luchi is a deep fried flatbread made with maida flour, is a typical dish of Bengali cuisine. Luchi is prepared with a dough made with maida, water and melted ghee, which is rolled as small balls,then these balls are flattened with a rolling pin individually. Those rolled balls are deep fried in oil which is called as Luchi, this deep fried beauties are usually serve with curries especially prepared with potatoes. If maida is substituted with wheat flour, we call it a poori. Luchi served with aloor dum with mishti doi makes an excellent breakfast and everytime i make luchi i love to serve them with aloo charchari or achari baingan, which makes an incredible pair too.I'll share Aloo charchari recipe soon.

Why today am posting Luchi, coz today i have to post a recipe name starts with 'L' as am running a long marathon for this whole month and this week's theme is Regional dishes. Since Luchi goes under Bengali cuisine, a prefect dish to post today na. Thank god, this Luchi is the final dish for this week's blogging marathon and we have still two more weeks to go. As i told earlier, my next week's theme is going to be street food/Condiments, stay tune friends..

Friday, September 13, 2013

Seriously i came to know about kokum only after blogging, Kokum yields a peculiar flavour and blackish red colour. It is a preferred substitute for tamarind in curries and other dishes from the Konkan region. It is also used in cuisine from Gujarat, where it is frequently used to add flavor and tartness to dal for flavor balance. I checked twice when i went to India for this kokum in stores there,but unfortunately i couldnt able to get them. Trust me, i was eagerly waiting to taste the famous dish solkadhi or Kokum kadhi,a popular dish in Konkan region prepared with this kokum.

Solkadhi or Kokum Kadhi is a type of curry usually can have with rice or sometimes they can be drunk after meals. Its well known for its digestive properties.Kokum kadhi is simply made with coconut milk and kokum which is spiced with simple ingredients. Do you know from where i bought this kokums, i picked them in London when i went for the blogger's meet there. I was so excited to see some packets of dried kokums there and i immediately grabbed a packet. I tried this kokum kadhi few days back at home and for my surprise my H and kids loved this kadhi with rice while i had it like a juice.Since this kokum kadhi goes under the theme Regional foods with 'K', am posting this dish today for this week's blogging marathon as we are running a long blogging marathon for this whole month with alphabets and themes.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Writing a guest post to a co blogger, any blogger can dream about it, thank god its happens quite often to me and am loving it. Recently Nalini of Nalini's Kitchen asked me to write a guest post for her, as she is celebrating her second blog anniversary. How can i miss a chance, i immediately said yes and i did this wonderful dessert for her.

Actually i know Nalini through blogging marathon before few years back,i'll never forget to visit her space and she shares mouthwatering recipes with breath taking pictures. Beware dont go to her space while you are hungry,yes each and every pictures of her food will tempt you definitely and you will go crazy. If you are searching authentic dishes, just check her space and you will definitely fallen in love with her post.

When she asked me for the guest post, she wants me to make a French bakes,but sorry Nalini i couldnt keep my words, i prepared a no bake French dessert specially for you.

Crème caramel or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top. The dish is eaten throughout the world eventhough is dessert is from French Cuisine.

Crème caramel goes for a plain custard where sugar syrup cooked to caramel stage is poured into the mold before adding the custard base. It is usually cooked in a bain-marie on a stove top or in the oven in a water bath. It is turned and served with the caramel sauce on top, hence the alternate French name crème caramel renversée.

But my version of No Bake Eggless Créme caramel doesnt need a oven and its completely egg free, this dessert goes for custard flour, Full fat milk, sugar and agar agar. Just with 4 ingredients you can make an incredible french dessert even if dont have oven at home. Have you noticed that this dessert is also gelatin free, i used china grass aka agar agar in this créme caramel, if you want to make with gelatin feel free to use it.

When i chosed Regional foods for this week's theme of this month's long blogging marathon, immediately my mind went for Jal jeera or jeera pulao for the letter 'J', but since this both dishes are quite common in Indian cuisine i dont want to make them, while googling i find out an incredible sweet rice from Rajasthani cuisine. Yes,i got to know about this Jaipuri Mewa Pulao, which is quite unknown for me. I checked for the recipe and i landed to Priya's space, trust me its love at first sight. Seriously the recipe goes for simple ingredients and who else will miss a chance to give a try to this delicious nuts pilaf.

Jaipuri mewa pulao aka Jaipuri Nuts pilaf goes for rice,sugar,milk,ghee and mixed nuts with few strands of saffron. An easy, very nutty and an aromatic sweet rice which sounds much more like Zarda rice, eventhough this dish is quite different from it.If you want to make a different dessert in very less time for a get together,dont forget to give a try to this fantabulous pulao, am sure you will get more appreciations and applauses for serving this delicious pulao to your friends and relatives.Sending to my own event CWS-Rice guest hosted by Shruti Dhingra Wahi of Shurti Rasoi.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

As i told in my earlier posts, this week's posts are going to be Regional foods which i cooked specially for this month's long blogging marathon. Today's dish name starts with 'I' and its a delicious,easy breezy stew from Kerala. Kerala cuisine is well known for their coconut based curries and stews obviously this stew is prepared completely with freshly squeezed coconut milk and tempered with coconut oil.

This stew is a very delicious side dish to enjoy thoroughly with breakfast dishes like string hoppers,appams or else simply along with rice. Ishthu/Esthu or Ishtu is usually prepared with cooked potatoes simmered in freshly coconut milk along with onions,green chillies and spices. This dish is very simple to prepare and taste very much delicious too.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

My passion towards baking just pulled me to start a baking group, thank God this group is going on successfully and many fellow bloggers who joined this group are just amazing. We share our tips and tricks and we are learning together to bake simple baked goodies, needless to say even we learned to bake anything as eggless or vegan now with the guidance of some bloggers joined our group. Thats seriously makes me happy, for our this month's Home Baker's Challenge, Shama of Shama's Easy 2 Cook Recipes chosed both sweet and savoury bakes. Shama's choices are just fabulous and seriously i was breaking my head to decide, but finally i went to this vegan banana nut muffins since i had some over ripen bananas at home.

Trust me, this vegan muffin was just amazing, very fruity,super moist and incredibly delicious with nuts. We enjoyed these muffins for our breakfast and my kids loved these muffins for their snacks, needless to say these muffins are definitely a healthy breakfast or snacks since they are baked with whole wheat flour and oat brans.Thanks Shama for this incredible muffins,we loved it.Sending to Srivalli's Cake Mela.

South Indian cuisine have varieties of chutneys and i cant imagine having my breakfast dishes like idlies or dosas without chutneys. Obviously i do prepare variety for chutneys while i was searching for a different healthy chutney i came to know about this hurali aka horsegram chutney through one of my friend who lives in India, she told that one of her aunt who lives in Bangalore shared her an interesting chutney with horsegrams. Obviously i asked her for the recipe and she was kind enough to share her version of this chutney.

Since this chutney is well known in Karnataka,obviously it falls under the Regional foods. Also this dish name starts with 'H',so i prepared this chutney few months back to make a post for this long blogging marathon. Honestly i have fallen in love with this chutney, we enjoyed thoroughly with rice and dosas for our lunch and dinner. Horsegram have many nutritional value and this wonderful beans is very much advised to dieting peoples and very much good for diabetic persons.This chutney is a keeper and am preparing this dish quite often to add nutritious horsegrams in our diet.Sending to Srivalli's Side dish Mela.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Today am starting my second week of blogging marathon with an interesting theme, yes from today onwards i'll be posting Regional foods as theme during this whole week. For the first day of this week's theme,i chosed to cook from Andhra Pradesh.Andhra dishes are quite famous among South Indians, their spicy dishes and variety pickles cant beat anything. Obviously Andhra foods have their own characters and they varies depending upon their districts. No need to speak about the famous Hyderabadi cuisine which falls under Andhra cuisine, this famous flavourful cuisine doesnt need any special introduction for South Indians.

For today's alphabet 'G', i chosed gavvalu, a typical sweets made in Andhra Pradesh with a dough prepared with flour,andwater. The prepared dough is shaped later into small balls which are flattened and rolled to take the shape of shells with a special gadget called gavvala peeta or gavvalu chakka. This sweet is often made during festivals and they can be made both as sweets and savoury version. Somehow i prefer the sweet version than the hot one. My aunt who lives in Hyderabad send me this gadget through my mom and i really want to give a try to this sweet shells since a long. Finally i got a chance to make some gavvalu with that gadget. If you dont have this gadget, dont worry you can make them with forks.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Sundays are always special for us,sunday means late wake up, a filling brunch,late lunch and outings. Sometimes, i would love to make a elaborated lunch for us coz twice a month during weekends my H go for work, so obviously if he is at home definitely i'll make a royal feast. Have you noticed before a week, myself and Veena announced an interesting event to give a push to your sleeping blog, we named our event as Let's Brunch On Sundays. The main motto of this event is to blog on sundays coz most of the bloggers couldnt able to feed their blog babies during weekdays coz of their busy schedules, so we both planned to create an event to cook and post a dish which goes under Sunday brunch,lunch or dinner.

Today is the first day of our event, am posting wonderful Cantonese dishes i dished out for an another event International Food Challenge , a monthly event started by two wonderful food bloggers. Seriously i love this International food challenge, its a wonderful platform to learn various cuisine which is not that much familiar for many of us. Thanks to Sara and Shobana, the brain childs of this event for inviting me to this food challenge. They challenged us with 4 different dishes,i cooked three out of four. I have already posted Spiral Moon Cake and here comes my vegetarian wonton noodle soup and Chinese scallion pancakes as their accompaniment i prepared for this challenge. I served this vegetarian wonton soup with Chinese scallion pancakes for our sunday lunch before few days back. Both were super filling and we enjoyed thoroughly this Chinese foods for our lunch.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Days are running so faster for me, since my kids started their schooling eventhough life is back to routine, am keeping myself busy in few stuffs,obviously my days are not slow as before.Reading books,chatting with friends, outing, shopping and some baking,yes my day is filled with so many activities and am loving it coz i dont like to sit idle. Today is 7th september and its time for my event Rendez Vous With A Foodie, an event happening twice a month in my blog,the main motto of this event is to introduce budding bloggers to this immense virtual world. This event is a huge hit and am happy that finally i could conduct an event through which few of the new bloggers are getting closer to me and am enjoying the bond between us. Eventhough i wont promote myself as a Super blogger, but still i think that i may showcase those new buddies to this incredible virtual world. I started this event few months back, till now many bloggers joined their hands with me and few are still in queue to showcase their space here. Thanking god for this,needless to say that this event is very close to my heart.

Today am introducing an incredible chef, who shares many interesting dishes, especially many delicious Bengali dishes in her space, she never fails to surprise me with her droolworthy dishes with her stepwise pictures. Just go through her space, am sure you will definitely fallen in love with her space. She is none other than Sanoli Ghosh of Sanoli's Kitchen, i came to know Sanoli last year and we started visiting our respective blogs mutually. Slowly we got to know more and she fabulously challenged us with an incredible dish Peas kachori with dum aloo for the famous South Vs North Challenge.I cant forget the taste of this combo even today and it became our family favourite since ever i tried it. Sanoli is an enthusiastic blogger with a huge heart, very respective and a truthful friend, a best sister whom am eagerly waiting to meet atleast once in my life time. Sanoli,this wonderful blogger who shares stepwise pictures to each and every post is really a down to earth person.Even a beginner or bachelor can learn any dish from her space as she shares accurate measurements to every dishes she blogs.

Let's hear from Sanoli now..

Today is really a very special day for me and I was waiting for it from few month’s back. The reason is I am going to guest post on my favourite food blogger friend, my Priya Suresh akka’s space, Priya’s Versatile Recipes. Each month she introduced two of the new fellow bloggers and their recipes on her event “Rendezvous with a foodie”.

Priya akka is a wonderful human being, whenever we, fellow bloggers (or who are new to this food blogging world) need any help, we always get guidance and the cooperation from her. When I saw she announced about her event, I placed my request and akka approved me to give a chance to showcase my recipe on the space. Feeling immense honour and it is a great opportunity to showcase my talent on this event. I admire and respect Priya Suresh akka from the core of my heart.

I am really happy to get Priya akka in this virtual blogging world, as she is an inspiration to me in cooking and baking. I am really thankful to her to get this opportunity and feeling very honoured today. Thanks a ton akka. Here is my super delicious mouth watery recipe “Corn Peas Kababs”, a vegan kabab, which is very easy with few ingredients and can be prepared in minutes. Hope you will like this treat Priya akka, lets come to the recipe…

1) Tell us about your blog and you?

Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Sanoli Ghosh, the creator & author of “Sanoli’s Kitchen”. Me and my husband both are complete foodie and cooking is my passion. I love to experiment on new dishes, as don’t like regular stuff. I entered kitchen for cooking only after marriage and on that day I was quite novice, my husband taught me the nuts and bolts of it. On those days, cooking was an adventure for me. Gradually, my cooking skills have been amplified. Now I can cook lot of varieties; as much as I love making my traditional family recipes, I also love taking a plunge into other cuisines of India and around the world.

I don’t consider myself an expert, my blog contains all tested and tried recipes and those are loved by our family and friends. It is my belief, learning never ends. I am always enthusiastic to learn new things. I am quite outspoken and transparent in nature. Though, a careerist woman before, now enjoying this phase of life as a proud homemaker.

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?

Before blogging, I was attached with corporate world, not that much sufficient time was in my hand. That time I experimented on my kitchen on weekend basis only. But after starting food blogging, I learnt a lot. I started many more exploration in my kitchen on regular basis, it is definitely changed my life and filled it with lots of fun and enjoyment. Not only cooking and serving new dishes, but food photography is also quite interesting which I started after my blogging only. Feeling so happy that I got bunches of virtual friends, who always inspiring me and definitely it changed my lonely life and gave a new trend. Before I was not aware of technical issues on blogging. But dissolving different problems, now much more aware on it.

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?

Before this year, I was in USA for 3&1/2 years. Lots of Indian bachelors and newly married couples were there who were always searching for good and tasty Indian food. Very oftenly, they asked me about several recipes. So I decided to start my food blog to share my recipes with them. As I love food and passionate on cooking & baking, I thought if my shared dishes would been tried out by them, it must be criticized and my hubby was my first critic. I admired it, because those were a lesson for me, to cook or bake in a better way towards the perfection.

4)There are a tonsof blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?

I loved to cook or bake very easy and simple recipes with step by step detailed pictorial presentation, which is surely help a novice to cook in a better way. I always tried to use very easily available ingredients which are maximum available in our pantries. So, anyone can tryout those dishes on daily basis.

5) When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?

My grandma was the best inspiration to me for making traditional recipes in delicious way. After that my mom is an expert to make fusion food, I learnt different techniques from her too.

6)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?

I faced lots of problems while I started my blogging, first few days I was waiting for a single follower, no one was there to follow my space with a single comment. I was really too sad. But I didn’t stop myself to post recipes. After few weeks or so, people started to visit and follow my space with their beautiful comments. I got bunches of lovely, cooperating friends in this virtual world. Thanks to this blogging world.

7)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?

I don’t have much knowledge in photography. But few things I must say, food photography definitely needs lots of patience. Keep clicking as much as possible. No need to use expensive and exclusive props. Try to shoot in daylight, attractive background and decent presentation are required. Lastly, use a photo editing tool to edit pictures perfectly.

9)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?

I don’t have any constraint budget. Normally I try to manage with the stuffs which are available in my pantry. But nowadays I frequently purchase stuffs for baking and It increases my budget a little. For the props, no such budget, but if anything I find out lucrative, will go for it.

10)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?

I don’t have any plan as such. It depends on my personal commitments. But I post at least twice a week on my blog.

11)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?

Other than blogging, I love music, so whenever I get free time, I listen any type of music. I love to read novels. Home décor is also one of my interesting fields.

Corn Peas Kathi Kababs:

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Sweet Corn (frozen)

½ Cup Green Peas (frozen)

¼ Cup Sattu (roasted Bengal gram / chana dal flour)

1&1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Green Chilies

1 Egg

8 Kabab Sticks

2 tbsps Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves

1 tsp Cumin Powder

2 tsp Dried Mango Powder (amchur)

½ tsp Paprika

1 tsp Sugar (for flavor)

Salt to taste

2-3 tbsps Oil (for shallow frying)

1/3 tsp Chaat Masala

1 tsp Lemon Juice

METHOD:

Firstly, lightly crush corn and peas separately in grinder.

Mix everything (except chaat masala, lemon juice, kabab sticks and oil) nicely in a large bowl. This must be a tight mixture. (if not add little more sattu)

Fougasse is a French bread which ressembles quite like a puffy flatbread. Usually this bread is associated to Provence region of France eventhough this bread is very famous with many variations in other regions. We get fougasse from supermarkets topped with onions,bacon and grated cheese, since i dont eat bacons i bake fougasse at home with my favourite toppings or else simply with grated emmental cheese. The Provence version of fougasse have olives,cheese or anchovies and looks almost like pizza without tomatoes.

Mostly fougasse doesnt need any spread to have with it as they are already topped with veggies,meats and cheese. We love fougasse along with a bowl of soup or else with some salads mostly for our dinner. Fougasse with a bowl of soup will definitely satisfy your tastebuds.This fougasse is my last post of this week's baked dishes as theme for this month's long blogging marathon with a dish name starts with 'F'..

Friday, September 6, 2013

How about making an another interesting sweet dumplings for the Ganesh chathurthi, that too with palm jaggery. During my mom's recent trip to India, she came back with some palm jaggery which am adding in my tea or coffee instead of sugar, tastewise they dont change anything but somehow none at home like this jaggery. But am ok with it, since i want to finish some leftover jaggery, i tried making this sweet dumplings with them. Palm Jaggery rich in iron, it prevents diseases like anemia and also contains essential nutrients like magnesium and potassium. Magnesium is vital for the proper functioning of the nervous systems and the potassium regulates the blood pressure and the heart functions.

It purifies the blood, prevents rheumatism and is highly nutritious in value and plam aggery is also useful in combating problems like cough and stomach ailments like indigestion, acidity and constipation. Consumption of jaggery is useful for those who are exposed to pollution on a regular basis like industrial workers.Palm jaggery is a natural sweetner and energy food it is very rich in minerals. The benefits of palm jaggery include its ability to cleanse your body, act as a digestive agent, sweeten your food in a healthy manner, provide good amounts of minerals. Highly rich in calcium and make use of their goodness by adding constantly in your diet.Sending to my own event CWS-Rice guest hosted by Shruti Dhingra Wahi of Shurti Rasoi.

Strawberries are summer fruits here and now they are very rare to see in the fruit stalls,you may wonder then how come am posting this eggless,spongy strawberries muffins. Yes I baked them before two months and i planned to post this wonderful baked goodies today coz i have to post a dish name starts with 'E', as am running a long blogging marathon with alphabets. Muffins are semi sweet cakes or quick breads baked in portions for a person. They are similar to cupcakes eventhough they are usually less in sweet and dont have icing on the top.Muffins can be prepared with many variations as low fat muffins with different ingredients in it. Muffins are often eaten for breakfast but however i love them as desserts or as evening snacks.

If dont like eggless muffins, you can make a super spongy muffins with strawberries just by adding 2 eggs and skip the milk and yogurt. Coz i replaced the eggs with milk and yogurt here. This fruity muffins with a cup of milk makes a super filling breakfast which suits prefectly to start a hectic day.Obviously you can replace the strawberries with your choice of fruits or nuts.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Ganesh Chathurthi is 9th september. Tempted by variety of modaks posted by fellow bloggers, i prepared this vegan sweet dumplings with rava today, this dumplings takes hardly less minute to get ready when compared to the usual rice dumpling. Roasted rava, sugar,cardamom powder,some grated coconut is just enough to make this quick dumplings.If you dont have rice flour or dont know how to make stuffed modaks, still you can make this quick,easy dumplings to please the God Ganesha.

This dumplings are vegan,if you have rava at home,just make this tiny dumplings even if you dont have enough time to make Kozhukattais. I will definitely try my hands to make the same sweet version with cornmeal to check whether this method works with yellow cornmeal.

Chocolate are my weakness, if i feel down i'll go definitely for baking that to with chocolate. Seriously baking and chocolates gives me more energy and happiness.Thats why i have loads of baked goodies in my space. Trust me i learned many techniques only after entering to this immense virtual world and am still in learning process. We all know that cookies are small edible cake which suits incredible for an evening snacks. Kids goes crazy for this crunchy small cakes and my kids favourite always goes for chocolate chips cookies.

Coming to this double chocolate cookies,since its has double chocolates in it obviously its a double bonanza for chocoholic persons like me.These cookies are extremely dangerously addictive so that you may forget completely about your waist line. These rich cookies will be bit soft when you take them out of the oven, but they will turn firm once they gets cool.. Do take care not to overbake these super chocolatey cookies.This recipe for the letter 'D' as am running this month's long marathon with alphabets and with baked dishes as theme.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Today's post its going to be a fantabulous coffee cake with my favourite two ingredients,cinnamon and chocolate chips. Yes these two ingrements makes me crazy everytime i bake with them in anything. Cake or bread just make them with these two ingredients and sure you will see the difference,trust me you will love this rocking combination. Today my alphabetic letter for my baked dishes theme for this month's long marathon is 'C', when i chosed baked dishes as this week's theme i know i'll be making a cinnamon chocolate combo bake. Finally i baked this coffee cake, an excellent tea time snacks to enjoy thoroughly with your cup of tea or coffee.

I got this cake's recipe from Diana's Desserts,the original recipe goes for chocolate chunks but i went for chocolate chips.Chocolate chunks or chips thats doesnt make much difference na. However this cake was a big hit among my friends, coz i baked this coffee cake for a small get together happened at our home before a month. This recipe is definitely a keeper which am gonna mix and match the ingredients in future, you can replace the sour cream with yogurt if you are not able to get them.Sending to Srivalli's Cake Mela.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Black Poppyseeds Cloverleaf dinner rolls have a soft,buttery and super fluffy texture than a usual dinner rolls, this dinner rolls are really easy to split and enjoy with your favourite spreads.The addition of the black poppy seeds do give a wonderful nuttiness to this spongy dinner rolls. Also these dinner rolls goes awesome with a meats, hot warm soups or creamy gravies when served during a dinner. They stay simply prefect for more than a two days if they are conserved in an air tight container.Obviously these cute rolls are very addictive and half of my dinner rolls get vanished quickly once they came out of the oven.

Shaping a cloverleaf rolls are very much easier than you may think, just make a bread dough and pinch the dough into small balls. Drop three of those balls in a muffin tin and let them rise , once they get baked you can get these cute looking,buttery cloverleaf dinner rolls. I brushed my rolls with melted butter,you can also brush them with egg yolks to make them more appealing with a shiny crust.As i told in my previous post, this wonderful bake is for this month's long blogging marathon with 'B' as alphabet under baked dishes as theme.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Yesterday i was eagerly waiting to see our this month's South vs North Challenge an event owned by Divya Pramil, unfortunately we the South Indian Team came to know about our challenge very late in nite. Eventhough before leaving to bed, i checked the recipe and its our family favourite Falooda, this drink is in my to do list since ages, but somehow i couldnt able to make them earlier. This time how can i skip this drink, whenever we go to Indian restaurant, my daughter will definitely order this chilled and sweet beverage and we love to have a sip from her's. Everytime she yells on us for finishing wat she ordered but who cares and everytime we do the same. Obviously when i prepared her favourite drink at home, she had this drink after her lunch and enjoyed finally a tall glass of this falooda completely by herself.

Do you know Falooda or Faluda is a cold and sweet beverage containing many ingredients which is very popular in South Asia. Traditionally it is made by mixing rose syrup with vermicelli, basil (sabza/takmaria) seeds, jelly pieces and tapioca pearls along with either milk or icecream.Falooda vermicelli are often made from arrowroot rather than wheat. The rose syrup may be substituted with another flavoured base like mango,chocolate, saffron or else with any other fruit syrup but my choice is always rose syrup.Nowadays faluda is a popular summer drink throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and the Middle East and is readily available in restaurants and beach stalls.Thanks to this month's North team Minnie of The Lady8home for challenging the South team (which i belongs) with this incredible beverage while Vijayalakshmi of our South team challenged the opposite North team with Ellu Poorna Kuzhakattai, a must for the upcoming Ganesh chathurthi in every South Indian's home.Minnie suggested us two versions of falooda one with icecream and second one with malai kulfi, somehow i went for the icecream one.

Finally after two months of summer vacation, my kids are getting ready to start an another new year of schooling. Now i can spend more time in cooking,clicking and non stop blogging, thats why am going to run blogging marathon for this whole month with alphabets and with different themes for four weeks. My first week of blogging marathon's theme is baked dishes, followed by regional foods, then for the third week its gonna be street foods/condiments and last but not least for the fourth week its going to be International foods/Fusion foods.

For the first day of this month's long blogging marathon i chosed the theme baked dishes and with 'A' as alphabet, obviously i chosed our family favourite cake aka Apple upside down cake. This cake is as much as like the famous pineapple cake. If you dont like apples, trust me you should give a try to this cake and am sure you will enjoy thoroughly this apple upside down cake.Caramelised apples gives definitely an excellent taste to this cake. I'll advice you to enjoy this cake with a scoop of vanilla icecream or with a cup of masala tea.This cake is definitely very simple, quick and prefect tea time snack. An easy breezy cake for beginners as well,you can bake very well this cake with both golden and gala apples.Sending to Srivalli's Cake Mela.